Teens Who Expect to Die Young Are More Likely to Commit Crime

A new study from the University of Texas at Dallas finds that teens who believe they will die young are more likely to commit crimes -- and more serious ones at that.

The study asked more than 1,300 serious juvenile offenders in Arizona and Pennsylvania one question: How long do you think you'll live? Their answers ranged from 16 to 200 years old. Researchers then checked in periodically with them over a period of seven years and asked about subsequent criminal activity.

The youths who went on to offend most were the ones with a short-term mentality. Notably, there was also a group of offenders -- those who could think long-term -- who successfully reformed.

"What that tells us is you can't just say all of these serious offenders are all bad and they're all going to be bad forever," said UTD criminologist Alex Piquero, who led the study.

Piquero said letting kids know "that your life now is not destiny" can make a difference.

"That's the take-home policy message from this: It's not a bleak thing," he said. "We can turn some of these kids around if we give them these opportunities and we give them these consistent messages."

Source: Dallas News
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/local-news/20140511-study-teens-who-expect-to-die-young-are-more-likely-to-commit-crime.ece